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I have been told that the Bible is boring. Maybe it is. I have a difficult time seeing how a book that is thousands of years old is not boring. Telling the story of how I brush my teeth is boring, it is why no one writes down all their teeth brushing experiences. Perhaps the Bible is boring because we are no longer surprised by the Bible.

We know about Adam blaming Eve, Samson’s flowing locks and strength, Jonah’s resentment, Jacob’s sneakiness, Esther's courage, Peter's denial, Paul's conversion. We just are not surprised when Easter is celebrated.

Allow me to let you in on a little secret that might sound a little crazy and even hyperbole, but it is something that changed my life. Here it is:

If you are reading the bible, you are doing it wrong. The bible is not meant to be read.

The bible is boring when you read it. We treat it like a movie that we have seen countless times. We think of the bible as like another media source and so it is something we read, something we consume, like any other book or movie. When we read it once we feel like we do after we watch a movie, we tell everyone that we have seen that. I is and have no deep desire to see it again.

You are not supposed to read the Bible, the Bible is supposed to read you.

It is collection of writings that we open ourselves up to in order to be convinced and shaped or formed. It is a living book that invites us to see that blaming another is not limited to Adam, that we too harbor resentment, that you and I manipulate others for our benefit, that Esther's courage is our courage and that we are Peter and we are Paul. These are not characters locked in the past or on a page. These are the stories of our lives today.

When we read the Bible, we are not surprised because we already know the ending. However, when we allow the Bible to read us, the surprises are never ending.